HyperThinker interview with Tanguy Peers, managing director of eBay.be.
Tanguy Peers started his career in the mergers and acquisitions department of Morgan Stanley, London. After having obtained his MBA from INSEAD, in 1999 he became the co-founder of b2build in Paris. B2build is an electronic market place and it was awarded the prize as start-up of the year in France. In 2003 he joined eBay in Amsterdam. Since 2004 he holds the position as managing director of eBay Belgium.
Soundbite
TP: “eBay is HyperThinker’s heaven because ..” 
Before you read Tanguy's interview quotes, take a minute to listen to the eBay song.
According to the “The Perfect Store”, by Adam Cohen (2002), the sense of community is the core of eBay’s success. Is this still the case?
TP: “We started with collectors because they have a strong sense of community”
“The first thing I do when I arrive at the office in the morning is to visit the community pages and look what’s going on.”
“Our users wanted better service from the Belgian Post. We listened to them and ended up acting as a union, representing their interests. The result was a discount service for eBay users and a joint marketing campaign.”
As an MBA educated manager, aren’t you too different from the idealist founders?
TP: “I don’t look like a hippie myself but I have a very good contact with him [Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder]. His basic philosophy is simple, that people are basically good, but I totally support it. It is very positive and clear and gives me great motivation. In Europe we are sometimes a bit too cynical.”
How is eBay adapting to Europe?
TP: “eBay is eleven years old and we’ve started here [in Belgium] three years ago. So we entered a young market with a complex product. The solution to that is to look carefully at the features, and see which are necessary. I am a great believer in less is more.”
What are the main issues?
TP: “We’re benefiting from eleven years of experience. So we are paying close attention to cultural sensitivities. The ban on gun trading [on eBay] in the US resulted in a quite violent community response. This would never happen here in Europe. And sex items are for example no problem in the Netherlands, but people in the US see that differently.”
For what cause would you team up with HyperThinkers?
TP: “We should appeal to politicians to do more to promote the opportunities of doing business on the Internet.”
Idea1: "After the evening news, the government now broadcasts commercials to promote safe driving. Why not do the same for the web and broadcast commercials that promote the safe and good use of the Internet?"
Idea2: "Do much more on the education side. eBay offers opportunities to all kinds of people to work from home, disabled people, but also people on the countryside. The countryside is more and more becoming a holiday destination and this is not good. With eBay you don't have to be in a city to earn a living.”
